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Wi)t  3lliuoi0  Centrol  Mailroatr. 


ITS  POSITION  AND  PROSPECTS. 


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ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  EAIL  IIOAI). 


For  the  purpose  of  aiding  the  construction  of  "  a 
Rail  Road  from  the  southern  terminus  of  the  Illinois  and 
Michigan  Canal  to  a  point  at  or  near  the  junction  of  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers,  with  a  Branch  of  the  same 
to  Chicago,  on  Lake  Michigan,  and  another  via  the  town 
of  Galena  to  Dubuque,  in  the  State  of  Iowa,"  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States,  by  an  Act,  approved  September 
20,  1850,  granted  to  the  State  of  Illinois, 

1st.  The  right  of  way  200  feet  wide,  through  the  public 
lands,  and  of  taking  necessary  materials  of  earth,  stone, 
lumber,  &c. 

2d.  Every  alternate  section  of  land,  designated  by  even 
numbers  for  six  sections  in  width  on  each  side  of  said 
Road  and  Branches,  or  if  any  such  have  been  sold,  so  much 
land  most  contiguous  to  such  sections  and  not  exceeding 
fifteen  miles  from  the  line  of  the  road  as  shall  be  equal  to 
those  sold. 

By  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Illinois, 
passed  the  present  year,  Robert  Schuyler,  George  Gris- 
wold,  Gouveneur  Morris,  Franklin  Haven,  David  A.  Neal, 
Robert  Rantoul,  jun.,  Jonathan  Sturgis,  George  W.  Lud- 
low, John  F.  Sanford,  Henry  Grinnell,  William  H.  Aspin- 
wall,  Leroy  Wiley  and  Joseph  W.  Alsop,  and  such  pers'-ijs 
as  shall  hereafter  become  Stockholders,  were  cr^.ied  a 
body  politic  and  corporate,  under  the  name  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Rail  Road  Company,  with  all  necessary  powers 
and  privileges  for  constructing  and  maintaining  the  Rail 
Road  and  Branches,  contemplated  in  the  Act  of  Congress 
aforesaid,  and  for  this  purpose,  the  right  of  way,  and  all 
the  lands  that  may  be  selected  along  the  line  of  said 


2 

Road  and  Branches  in  the  Stale,  under  the  grant  in  said 
Act,  together  with  a  right  of  way  over  and  tlirough  lands 
belonging  to  the  State,  and  all  the  rights  and  materials 
heretofore  acquired  by  the  State  for  the  same  object, 
are  ceded  and  granted  to  said  Corporation,  on  condi- 
tion that  such  Road  shall  be  built  in  four,  and  said 
Branches  in  six  years,  and  that  when  built  and  in  opera- 
tion, seven  per  cent  of  the  gross  income  shall  be  paid  to 
the  State  in  lieu  of  all  taxes  levied  for  State  purposes.  The 
lands  thus  granted  are  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  Trus- 
tees, three-fourths  for  the  security  of  any  Bonds  issued  by 
the  Company,  and  one-fourth  to  meet  any  deficiency  from 
other  sources,  for  the  payment  of  interest,  or  contingencies. 
The  Capital  Stock  is  fixed  by  the  Act,  at  one  million  of 
dollars,  which  may  be  increased  at  any  time,  to  an  amount 
not  exceeding  the  entire  expenditure  on  account  of  the  Road. 

The  Illinois  Central  Rail  Road  Company  has  been  orga- 
nised, the  Capital  Stock  subscribed,  and  twenty  per  cent,  of 
it  paid  in,  all  the  conditions  of  the  Charter  have  been  com- 
plied with,  and  all  the  deeds,  grants  and  trusts  executed. 
Engineers  are  employed  in  selecting  a  route  and  the 
donated  lands,  which  will  amount  to  3840  acres  for  each 
mile  of  road,  or  in  the  aggregate,  (the  Road  and  Branches 
being  assumed  at  670  miles)  2,572,800  acres. 

It  is  proposed  to  meet  tlie  cost  of  construction  by  the 
issue  of  Bonds,  payable  in  1875,  bearing  interest  not  ex- 
ceeding seven  percent.  The  security  for  the  principal  will 
be — 1st,  the  Road  itself;  and  2d,  two  million  acres  of  the 
donated  lands.  The  security  for  the  interest  will  be 
1st,  the  Capital  Stock;  2d,  the  Income  of  the  Road;  3d, 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  acres  of  the  land  specially 
appropriated. 

The  lands  will  be  valued  at  prices  that  will  more  than 
cover  any  possible  amount  required  for  construction,  but 
which,  it  is  believed,  will  be  fully  realised  before  the 
period  of  the  maturity  of  the  Bonds.  These  Bonds  may  at 
any  time,  be  surrendered  and  any  land  on  sale  claimed  in 
lieu  of  them  at  the  appraisement.    None  of  the  lands  appro- 


priated  for  their  security,  cun  be  disposed  of,  except  on  the 
simultaneous  surrender  or  payment  of  Bonds  to  an  amount 
eqital  to  their  appraisal.     That  appraisal  of  the  two   mil- 
lions of  acres  mortgaged  for  their  security,  that  is,  the  price 
under  which   they  will   not  be  sold,    and  to   which    it   is 
expected  they  will  advance  at  some  time  previous  to  1S75, 
will  be  so  arranged,  as  soon  as  they  are  selected  and  their 
character  known,  as  to  produce  the  following  averages. 
400,000acres  ordinary  agricultural  lands  SG,     $2,400,000 
1,200,000  acres  good  agricultural  lands   $10,     12,000,000 
300,000  acres  superior  agricultural  do.  $1.5,       4,500,000 
100,000  acres  town  sites,  mineral  lands  $25,       2,500,000 


2,000,000  $21,400,000 

To  enable  the  Company  to  meet  the  demand  for  these 
lands  at  any  time,  short  ot  the  period  of  the  maturity  of 
the  Bonds,  the  right  to  anticipate  their  payment  has  been 
reserved,  but  only  on  condition  of  giving  one  hundred  and 
twenty  dollars  for  every  hundred  so  taken  up. 

During  the  time  occupied  in  the  construction  of  the  Read 
the  interest  on  the  outlay  will  be  included  in  its  cost.  Im- 
mediately on  its  completion,  the  Income,  after  paying  cur- 
rent expenses  and  State  tax,  will  be  of  course  applied  to 
this  object.  If  it  should  not,  at  first,  be  sufficient,  the 
earnings  from  any  partial  use  of  the  road,  before  its  entire 
completion,  the  whole  capital  stock  of  the  Company,  and 
the  entire  proceeds  of  sales  of  250,000  acres  of  land  set  a- 
side  for  this  purpose,  will  form  a  fund  that  will  be  ample 
under  any  contingency. 

The  basis  of  this  enterprise  is  founded  both  on  National 
and  State  legislation.  The  powers  delegated  are  ample, 
the  titles  are  perfect.  It  is  of  its  merits  as  a  public  work, 
of  its  capabilities  as  a  great  thoroughfare,  of  its  success  as 
a  commercial  operation,  and  its  consequent  estimation  as  a 
medium  of  investment,  that  I  now  propose  to  make  some 
remarks. 


4 

If  to  make  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  but  one  grew 
before,  be  worthy  the  high  commendation  of  the  philoso- 
pher and  patriot,  it  will  not  be  deemed  an  act  al together 
unimportant  or  useless  to  the  country  to  open  to  the  ap- 
proach of  industry,  millions  of  acres  of  the  most  fertile  soil 
the  sun  ever  shone  upon,  and  to  make  available  at  once, 
the  alluvial  deposites  of  countless  ages.  An  enterprise  that 
will  thus  bring  into  use,  wealth  heretofore  buried,  that  will 
lighten  the  burthen,  while  it  will  increase  the  rewards  of 
labor,  that  will  add  to  the  resources  of  the  poor,  and  offer 
new  and  valuable  investments  to  the  rich,  will  hardly 
want  friends,  when  such  pretensions  shall  be  established. 
The  construction  of  a  Rail  Road  traversing  in  its  whole 
length  the  State  of  Illinois  from  Cairo,  where  the  waters 
of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Ohio  meet,  bearing  on  their  sur- 
face the  various  productions  of  the  North  and  the  South, 
of  the  East  and  the  West,  to  the  vast  mineral  regions  of 
Galena  in  the  North  West  and  to  Chicago  the  emporium 
of  the  commerce  of  the  great  Lakes  at  the  North  East,  will 
it  is  believed  accomplish  these  objects.  Its  practicability, 
with  the  means  at  the  disposal  of  its  projectors  and  friends, 
is  an  important  consideration.  This,  it  is  evident,  must 
mainly  depend  on  the  ultimate  value  of  the  work  when 
completed,  and  of  the  effect  on  the  property  which  forms 
the  basis  of  all  its  financial  operations.  The  value  of  the 
work  may  be  estimated  by  the  use  that  can  be  made  of  it, 
or  rather  by  the  extent  of  production  to  which  the  ability 
to  use  it,  will  give  birth.  The  sources  of  income  will  be 
found, 

1st.  In  the  produce  of  the  mines  and  forests,  for  these 
furnish  articles  ready  for  use,  and  of  general  consumption 
every  where. 

2d.  In  the  produce  of  the  soil,  which  requires  easy  and 
cheap  transportation  to  induce,  as  much  as  it  does  sun- 
shine and  rain,  to  perfect  its  cultivation. 

3d.  In  the  supplies  requisite  to  those  Avho  may  be  enga- 
ged in  occupations  connected  with  or  incident  to  the  two 
above  named  branches  of  business. 


4th.  In  the  movements  of  the  same  persons  for  purposes 
of  business  or  pleasure. 

5th.  In  the  transit  of  persons  and  goods  between  points 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  State,  for  which  the  route  will 
afford  the  most  convenient  and  expeditious  passage. 

6th.  In  the  transportation  of  mails  and  expresses,  and 
in  other  miscellaneous  operations. 

Having  settled  these  points  with  as  much  precision  as 
the  nature  of  the  case  admits,  it  will  be  easy  to  estimate 
the  value  of  the  Road  as  an  investment,  and  consequently 
as  a  security  per  se  for  the  means  necessary  to  construct 
it.  If  it  cannot  be  shown  that  it  will  yield  some  income 
beyond  its  current  expenses,  no  one  will  probably  take  the 
trouble  to  carry  on  the  enterprise,  and  consequently  no 
means  will  be  required  for  its  construction.  If  therefore 
these  means  are  sought,  it  will  be  proof  that  its  projectors 
believe  it  will  be  of  some  intrinsic  value.  It  may  be  more 
or  less,  or  they  may  be  altogether  mistaken. 

If  the  latter  be  not  the  case,  then  the  property  which 
they  receive  for  carrying  out  the  plan,  must  also  be  worth 
something.  How  much,  will  depend  on  the  demand  for  it, 
and  the  demand  will  be  proportionate  to  the  number  of 
persons  who  may  be  induced,  by  the  prospect  of  success, 
to  cluster  about  it.  We  come  back  then  to  the  great  ques- 
tion of  population.  In  estimating  what  it  may  be  some 
four  or  five  or  six  years  hence,  in  the  region  to  be  traversed 
by  this  or  any  other  Road,  we  have  the  same  lights  to 
guide  us  that  are  always  used  by  prudent  men  in  their 
daily  operations. 

The  merchant  embarks  in  a  well  known  traffic,  with 
confidence,  because  he  knows  the  number  and  wants  of 
his  customers.  The  manufacturer  trusts,  without  ques- 
tion, the  most  valuable  material  in  the  hands  of  the  opera- 
tive, because  he  believes,  that  in  its  new  form  it  will  have 
acquired  a  new  value  from  the  fact  that  there  are  people 
whose  comforts  will  be  increased  by  its  use.  The  farmer 
casts  his  seed  into  the  ground,  with  little  doubt  of  eventful 
re-payment,  not  only  in  the  crops  which  must  ensue,  but 


6 

in  his  ability  to  exchange  them  for  other  things  of  whicli 
he  has  more  need.  So,  if  we  offer  a  richer  soil  and  greater 
facilities  for  disposing  of  its  produce,  than  can  be  found 
elsewhere,  we  may  fairly  calculate  on  drawing  to  it  a 
portion  of  the  vast  body  of  men  that  are  always  in  motion, 
seeking  rest,  and  competence  and  wealth,  and  just  in  pro- 
portion as  are  the  inducements,  will  be  the  rapidity  of  its 
settlement  and  the  value  of  the  property.  How  rapid  it 
will  be,  and  how  great  the  appreciation,  we  can  judge 
when  we  know  the  whole  case  from  analogy  and  expe- 
rience. These  are  the  true  prophets.  No  man  can  be 
called  speculative  in  the  opprobrious  sense  of  the  term, 
that  bases  his  operations  on  these  as  a  foundation,  and 
legitimately  forms  his  opinions,  and  acts  on  them,  from  an 
accurate  knowledge  of  facts  and  of  their  ordinary  effects. 
In  doing  this  however,  we  should  weigh  carefully  all  the 
conflicting  circumstances,  give  no  heed  to  the  dictates  of 
interest  or  the  fascinations  of  a  favorite  theory.  On  the 
contrary  we  should  always  assume  that  there  will  be  difll- 
culties  we  have  not  discovered,  and  some  points  on  which 
we  have  been  deceived  by  false  information  or  misled  by 
specious  pretensions. 

In  presenting  the  following  views  and  estimates,  I  have 
not  only  endeavored,  to  keep  within  these  rules,  but  to 
make  more  than  ample  allowance  for  any  possible  con- 
tingency. 

The  geographical  character  of  the  State  of  Illinois  lias 
not  been  favorable  to  a  rapid  development  of  its  resources. 
The  Mississippi  forms  its  entire  western  boundary,  and  the 
Ohio  and  Wabash  its  southern  and  eastern.  It  is  inter- 
sected but  by  one  navigable  river,  the  Illinois.  It  has  but 
one  harbor  on  the  Lakes,  Chicago.  A  large  portion  of  the 
^tate  is  without  wood.  A  much  larger  portion  of  it  is 
without  roads,  or  the  means  of  making  them.  Its  streams 
are  the  only  practicable  routes  for  heavy  transportation, 
and  they  are  frozen  in  winter,  and  almost  dry  in  summer. 

Its  financial  position  has  not  been,  for  several  years 


past,  of  stidh  a  character  as  to  invite  an  increase  of  popu- 
lation. With  a  view  to  counteract  the  actual  disadvantages 
mentioned,  an  extensive  system  of  internal  improvement 
was  very  early  projected  by  the  State  Government,  but  the 
only  results  were  unfinished  works,  enormous  debts  and 
heavy  taxation. 

Such,  however,  is  the  extraordinary  richness  of  its  soil, 
the  ease  with  which  it  is  cultivated,  and  the  enormous 
returns  it  yields  for  the  labor  bestowed  upon  it,  that  the 
number  of  its  inhabitants  has  been  steadily  progressive, 
and  has  now  reached  between  8  and  900,000,  and  15  to  the 
square  mile.  The  adverse  circumstances  which  have  re- 
tarded its  prosperity  no  longer  operate  to  the  same  extent, 
and  will  soon  disappear  altogether.  Her  Canal  is  com- 
pleted, her  debt  in  process  of  liquidation,  and  her  finances 
rapidly  assuming  a  position  that  will  no  longer  require  the 
imposition  of  heavy  taxes  to  sustain  her  credit  and  restore 
her  reputation.  But  beyond  anything  else,  the  construction 
of  Rail  Roads  will,  in  the  course  of  four  or  five  years  do 
more  for  Illinois,  than  the  discovery  of  its  sierras  of 
gold  has  done  for  California.  The  National  Government 
has  acted  with  a  true  regard  to  its  own  interests,  in  passing 
the  act  granting  to  the  States  of  Illinois,  Mississippi  and 
Alabama,  alternate  sections  of  the  public  lands,  twelve 
miles  in  width,  whenever  and  wherever  they  would  con- 
struct a  Rail  Road  that  should  commence  on  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  and  terminate  at  the  Lakes,  and  on  the  head  wa- 
ters of  the  Mississippi.  The  portion  allotted  to  Illinois,  in 
this  work,  extends  from  Cairo,  at  the  junction  of  the 
Mississippi  and  Ohio  rivers,  to  Chicago,  on  its  north-east- 
ern, and  to  Galena,  on  its  north-western  boundary. 

The  peculiar  formation  of  this  tract  of  country,  makes 
it  perhaps  more  than  any  other  in  the  world,  the  j)lace  for 
the  location  of  Rail  Roads.  Its  topographical  character  is 
extremely  favorable  to  their  construction.  On  its  vast 
prairies  the  levels  are  already  formed.  The  embankments 
and  ditches  may  be  made  by  turning  the  sods  from  the 
sides  to  the  centre.     There  are  but  few  streams  to  cross, 


8 

no  rocks  to  blast,  no  mountains  to  perforate,  and  no  valua- 
ble estates  through  which  to  purchase  at  enormous  rates, 
the  right  of  way.  The  difficulties  are  all  of  an  inferior 
grade.  The  want  of  material  at  hand  for  the  purposes  of 
masonry,  construction  of  bridges,  and  ballasting  the  Road 
way,  will  be  obviated  by  laying  the  track  on  the  banks 
made  from  the  side  drains,  and  transporting  on  it  the  rock, 
wood  and  gravel  required,  and  which,  from  the  great  dis- 
tance between  the  points  where  they  are  found  and  where 
they  are  wanted,  could  be  done  in  no  other  way.  The  very 
low  cost  of  Rail  Roads  already  completed  in  Illinois,  fully 
sustain  the  fact  of  the  great  facilities  which  the  nature  of 
the  country  affords  for  their  construction.  It  is  probable 
they  can  be  built  at  less  cost  here  than  in  any  other  part 
of  the  globe.  It  is  certain  they  will  do  comparatively  more 
good.  Any  where  they  are  better  than  rivers.  Every 
where  they  increase  wealth  by  facilitating  the  means  of 
acquiring  it.  But  here  they  open  access  to  a  country 
through  which  no  river  runs,  and  from  which  no  river  can 
now  be  reached.  They  develope  resources  that  must  other- 
wise have  remained  hidden  from  human  sight,  and  beyond 
the  grasp  of  human  hands. 

Aware  of  the  importance  of  introducing  this  engine  of 
prosperity  into  their  State  with  the  least  possible  delay,  the 
Legislature  of  Illinois  wisely  decided  to  transfer  the  boon 
offered  by  the  General  Government,  to  any  responsible  party 
that  would  undertake  the  enterprise,  reserving  to  itself  a 
fair  share  of  the  profits  to  be  derived  from  it,  and  tendering 
to  it  all  the  protection  which  the  broad  seal  of  the  State, 
and  the  solemnity  of  a  contract,  capable  of  being  enforced 
in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  could  give. 
The  original  gift  and  its  subsequent  transfer  will,  we  trust, 
prove  to  be  in  fact,  a  deed  of  beneficence,  blessing  those 
who  gave,  and  those  who  received  it. 

The  Association,  to  whom  the  grant  has  been  made  by 
the  State  of  Illinois,  have  received  all  waters,  land,  materi- 
als, privileges,  rights  of  way,  gradings,  embankments, 
surveys,  property,  profiles  and  papers,  belonging  to  the 
State,  and  necessary  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  the 


9 

Road,  free  of  cost  and  expense,  subject  to  their  control  and 
for  their  use  forever. 

The  Road  to  be  built  is  restricted  only  to  within  seven- 
teen miles  each  side  of  a  straight  line  from  the  city  of  Cairo 
to  the  Southern  terminus  of  the  lUinois  Canal,  which  line 
is  nearly  coincident  with  the  third  principal  meridian, 
thence  a  branch  by  any  convenient  route  to  Galena.  From 
a  point  in  about  the  latitude  of  °39.30  North  latitude,  will 
diverge  the  branch  to  be  buih  to  Chicago.  The  Main  Line 
to  be  completed  in  four  years,  the  Branches  in  six.  No 
taxes  to  be  levied  until  the  road  is  completed ;  then  in  lieu 
of  all  other  taxes  the  Company  are  to  pay  seven  per  cent, 
of  the  gross  earnings  of  the  Road,  as  already  stated.  The 
donated  lands  consist  of  every  alternate  section  designated 
by  even  numbers,  for  six  sections  in  width  on  each  side  of 
the  Road  as  it  may  be  located,  or  if  any  of  these  have 
been  sold,  then  an  equal  quantity  may  be  taken  from  con- 
tiguous tiers  of  sections  any  where  within  fifteen  miles  of 
the  line. 

Under  this  grant,  the  Road  will  be  located  through  tlie 
most  fertile  prairies,  the  most  valuable  forests,  and  the 
richest  mineral  lands  in  the  State;  but  these  have  been  ne- 
glected by  settlers  in  consequence  of  the  utter  impossibil- 
ity of  getting  their  productions  to  market.  Ihitil  the  lUi- 
nois Central  Rail  Road  Company  shall  have  selected  their 
lands,  the  Books  of  the  General  Land  Oflice  in  Washing- 
ton are  closed  against  entries  in  this  region,  and  when 
opened,  the  price  is  to  be  double  that  of  the  other  lands. 
The  Company  are  therefore  fully  protected.  They  have 
organized  under  their  charter,  all  the  deeds  and  necessary 
documents  have  been  executed  by  the  Governor  of  the 
State,  the  trustees,  and  its  own  officers.  The  whole  stock 
has  been  taken  and  twenty  per  cent,  been  paid  in,  in  cash, 
and  the  same  deposited  with  the  State  Treasurer  of  Illi- 
nois, to  be  returned  on  completion  of  fifty  miles  of  the 
Road.  Robert  Schuyler,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  a  gentleman 
more  conversant  with  and  more  largely  interested  in  Rail 
Roads  than  any  other  person  on  the  Western  continent, 
has  been  chosen  President,  and   Morris  Ketchum,  Esq.,  of 


10 

llie  very  wealthy  and  well  known  house  of  Rogers,  Ketch- 
uiTi  &  Bemcnt,  Treasurer  of  the  Association,  R.  B.  Ma- 
son, Esq.,  of  the  New  York  and  New  Haven  Rail  Road, 
has  been  appointed  Chief,  and  he  has  engaged  seven  resi- 
dent and  a  large  corps  of  assistant  Engineers,  who  have 
proceeded  to  Illinois  to  locate  the  Road  and  select  the  do- 
nated lands.  The  system  devised  for  procuring  the  means 
of  building  this  Road  by  the  sale  of  Bonds,  and  for  the 
payment  of  them  when  or  before  they  become  due,  is 
unique  in  its  character  and  provisions.  It  is  believed  to 
afford  not  simply  entire  security  for  the  current  interest 
and  redemption  at  maturity,  but  a  strong  probability  of  a 
great  advance  in  value,  in  consequence  of  the  peculiar 
conditions  annexed  to  the  sale  of  the  property  which  forms 
a  branch  of  the  collateral  security  embraced  in  the  plan. 

The  length  of  the  Road  and  Branches  will  probably  not 
be  less  than  670  miles,  which  will  entitle  the  Company,  as 
before  stated,  to  an  aggregate  donation  of  2,572,800  acres. 
No  estimate  of  its  cost  has  been  attempted,  for  no  particu- 
lar survey  of  the  whole  route  has  yet  been  made.  It  is 
said  that  $1.5,000  per  mile  is  the  highest  that  any  Road 
(allowing  for  heavy  T  rail,)  has  as  yet  cost  in  Illinois  ; — 
$20,000  per  mile  would  require  about  $14,000,000.  It  is 
intended  to  use  the  strictest  economy,  consistent  with  the 
construction  of  a  good,  substantial  Road.  It  is  also  in- 
tended to  pay  for  every  thing  with  cash.  There  are  vari- 
ous reasons  besides  for  believing  that  this  Road  will  be 
built  for  comparatively  little  money;  but  as  ample  secu- 
rity will  be  offered  for  any  possible  sum  that  may  be  re- 
quired, it  is  unnecessary  in  this  connection  to  go  into  any 
detail  on  that  subject. 

The  Bonds  will  be  dated  April  1,  1S51,  with  Coupons 
attached,  at  rate  of  interest  to  be  hereafter  agreed  on,  not 
exceeding  seven  per  cent.  It  is  desirable  to  negotiate  at 
once  (if  practicable,)  for  enough  to  ensure  the  building  the 
Road,  but  to  be  paid  by  instalments  as  wanted. 

The  first  security  for  these  Bonds  that  will  be  offered, 
will  be  the  Road  itself.  To  render  this  satisfactory,  it 
must  be  shown,    with  a   reasonable  degree  of  certainty, 


11 

that  it  will  pay  its  current  expenses,  taxes  and  interest  on 
the  capital  invested.  There  will  be  wilhin  fifteen  miles  of 
the  line  of  this  Road,  upwards  of  12,000,01)0  acres  of  land. 
It  is  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  any  kind  of  grain,  but 
particularly  of  Indian  corn,  of  which  it  is  said  it  produces 
60  a  70  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  to  be  inexhaustible. 
There  are  at  various  points  on  the  Road,  large  quantities 
of  bituminous  coal.  There  is  one  field  of  peculiarly 
good  quality  near  Danville,  about  120  miles  from  Chicago, 
from  which  all  the  shore  towns  and  steamers  of  Lake 
Michigan  may  be  supplied.  Another,  50  miles  from  Ca- 
iro, which  may  supply  the  demands  for  steamboats,  both 
on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi.  A  large  part  of  Illinois,  es- 
peciallj'  that  distant  from  the  banks  of  the  rivers,  is  desti- 
tute of  forests.  Chicago  is  the  great  depot  for  the  lumber 
of  both  Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  and  it  can  always  be 
obtained  here  in  any  quantities  at  low  prices.  Cairo  is  at 
tlie  head  of  navigation  for  tlie  large  steamers  of  the  Low- 
er Mississippi,  and  the  place  of  transhipment  from  them  to 
the  vessels  of  lighter  draft,  and  vice  versa,  both  of  passen- 
gers and  freight.  Frequently  the  rivers  above  are  impeded 
with  ice,  swollen  from  freshets  or  impassible  for  want  of 
water.  The  Illinois  Central  Rail  Road  will  furnish  a  rapid 
communication  with  and  through  the  central,  most  fertile 
and  most  healthy  portions  of  the  State.  Its  means  of  trans- 
portation, will  be  ample,  uninterrupted  and  safe.  It  will 
be  completed  probably  in  four  years  from  the  time  of  its 
active  commencement. 

One  mode  of  increasing  the  population  of  the  country 
will  be  the  mass  of  laborers  that  must  be  introduced  to 
build  the  Road.  The  amount  paid  to  workmen  alone,  em- 
ployed in  grading,  will  not  probably  be  less  on  an  average, 
than  $6000  per  mile.  Assuming  the  wages  at  ^l  per  day, 
and  the  road  666  2-3  miles  long,  we  have  4,000,000  days 
work — or  divided  among  four  years,  1,000,000  per  annum — 
and  supposing  250  working  days  in  the  year,  we  require 
4000  men  to  be  constantly  at  work.  With  the  prospect  of 
so  long  a  job.  large  numbers  of  these  will  have  their  fami- 
lies with  them,  and  thus  add  at  least  50  per  cent  to  the 


12 

number.  With  them  will  naturally  be  brought  those  who 
look  for  profit  in  supplying  them.  An  immediate  market 
will  be  introduced  for  small  farmers  all  along  the  line, 
who  will  clear  their  land  in  a  single  year  from  the  disposal 
of  their  surplus  produce.  Three  fourths  of  the  money  ex- 
pended in  constructing  the  road,  will  remain  in  the  country, 
or  be  remitted  to  Washington,  in  payment  for  Government 
lands.  Settlers  will  thus  have  an  unprecedented  opportu- 
nity to  make  themselves  not  only  owners  of  the  soil,  but 
establish  themselves  with  comfort  and  independence  for 
life.  This  will  arrest  the  tide  of  immigration  at  this  point. 
It  will  be  known  throughout  Europe,  as  the  spot  where 
labor  is  in  demand,  wages  good,  pay  prompt,  living  cheap, 
and  farms  paid  for  from  the  profits  of  a  single  crop.  By 
these  means  this  strip  of  thirty  miles  in  width,  or  parcel  of 
20,000  square  miles  of  country,  will  soon  become  spotted 
with  an  industrious  population. 

But  these  will  not  be  the  only  means,  nor  agriculture 
the  only  inducement  for  drawing  settlers  to  this  region. 
Where  the  ground  produces  so  exuberantly,  the  greater 
part  of  its  productions  must  find  a  foreign  market.  The 
corn  grown  by  the  Irish  immigrant,  now  raised  to  the 
dignity  of  landed  proprietor,  will  go  to  feed  his  relatives 
and  friends  in  the  old  country.  The  hemp  rotted  in  the 
waters  of  the  Illinois  and  Kaskaskias,  already  almost  the 
only  kind  used  in  the  Eastern  States,  will  meet  and  com- 
pete with,  and  put  down  the  product  of  the  Serf  labor  of 
Russia,  in  the  London  Market.  The  beef,  pork  and  lard 
of  the  Prairie,  will  not  only  feed  all  the  inhabitants  between 
the  Mississippi  and  the  yVtlantic  coast,  but  will  crowd, 
more  than  ever,  the  docks  and  rise  in  higher  piles  on  the 
quays  of  Liverpool.  The  immense  flocks,  for  which  this 
portion  of  the  country  is  already  becoming  celebrated,  will 
supply  the  mills  that  are  found  on  every  stream  in  New 
England,  at  a  cheaper  rate,  and  with  a  better  article,  than 
that  for  which  they  have  till  latterly  sent  and  still  do  to 
some  extent  send  their  ships  to  gather  in  the  extreme  cor- 
ners of  the  earth.  The  returns  for  these  substantial  items 
of  food  and  raiment  must  consist  of  all  the  variety  of  com- 


13 

forts  and  luxuries  which  the  hard-working  laborer  requires 
and  which  the  prosperous  farmer  will  have.  This  niter- 
change  of  commodities  must  employ  many  heads  and 
many  hands.  It  will  cause  the  establishment  of  stores, 
villages,  towns  and  cities.  These  will  be  connected  by 
earth  roads  and  plank  roads  and  rail  roads.  Churches 
and  schools  will  spring  up  in  every  direction.  It  will  be 
the  reverse  of  the  country  of  the  poet,  "  where  wealth  ac- 
cumulates and  men  decay."  Men  grow  happier  and  bet- 
ter where  wealth  increases  from  their  own  exertions,  where 
industry  is  sure  to  give  them  competence,  and  enterprise 
will  secure  abundance. 

But  for  our  present  purpose,  these  pictures,  which  are  too 
true  to  nature  in  our  Western  country  to  be  considered  any 
thing  more  speculative  than  is  the  plan  of  the  architect, 
who  has  his  materials  ready  purchased  and  his  contracts 
ready  drawn,  these  may  be  entirely  dispensed  with,  we 
may  if  we  can,  crowd  ourselves  down  to  the  idea  that  this 
region,  now  about  to  be  emancipated  from  its  native  wild- 
ness,  will  crawl  along  so  that  at  the  end  of  four  or  fiv« 
years  it  will  have  attained  a  population  no  greater  than  the 
present  average  of  the  whole  State.  Even  then  there  will 
be  dependent  on  this  road  for  their  supplies  and  for  the 
sale  of  their  produce,  at  least  300,000  persons,  each  one 
of  whom  will  be  located  somewhere  within  eighteen  miles 
of  a  Station  on  the  Illinois  Central  Rail  Road. 

Under  the  circumstances  and  with  the  advantages  that 
have  been  thus  alluded  to,  can  there  be  a  doubt  that  the 
Road  will  be  sustained  and  pay,  even  the  first  year  it  may 
be  put  in  operation,  a  liberal  income  on  its  cost?  It  is 
hard  to  conceive  a  state  of  things  in  which  such  must  not  be 
the  case.  As  this,  however,  is  an  important  matter,  it  may 
be  as  well  to  descend  to  particulars,  and  in  doing  so,  I 
will  assume  there  is  to  be  no  progress,  no  incentive,  no  en- 
terprise ;  that  no  spirit  is  to  be  awakened,  no  impulse  giv- 
en by  the  outlay  of  millions  of  money,  and  no  advantage 
taken  of  the  millions  of  acres  of  the  richest  soil  in  the 
world,  located  in  the  absolute  centre  of  the  United  States, 
which  will  be  thrown  before  the  thousands  that  are  daily 


14 

flocking  to  these  shores  for  the  very  purpose  of  gaining 
a  foothold  and  freehold  in  our  country.  The  calculations 
Aviil  be  based  simply  on  what  would  nov)  be  the  business 
of  the  Road,  if  it  were  completed,  supposing  it  to  have  the 
advantage  of  only  the  present  average  density  of  popula- 
tion in  the  State  and  conceding  to  its  industry  but  the  least 
probable  amount  of  productiveness. 

The  first  source  of  income  to  this  Road,  it  has  been 
already  stated,  would  be  found  in  the  produce  of  the 
mines  and  forests,  in  other  words  in  the  transportation  of 
coal  and  lumber.  Coal  of  a  bituminous  character  is  found 
in  many  places  in  Illinois.  Two  fields  of  very  superior 
quality  will  be  found  intersected  by  this  Road  or  its  Chi- 
cago Branch,  one  about  50  miles  from  Cairo,  the  other 
]20  miles  from  Chicago.  It  is  not  probable  that  any  con- 
siderable quantities  will  be  exported  from  Cairo,  because 
the  coal  from  the  Ohio,  being  contiguous  to  its  banks,  can 
be  delivered  on  shipboard  for  less  money.  It  will,  howev- 
er, be  wanted  by  every  steamboat  that  touches  at  that 
place,  and  the  convenience  and  facility  with  which  it  may 
be  furnished  from  the  Road,  will  ensure  that  custom.  In 
1850,  it  is  stated  that  1500  arrivals  of  steam  boats  were 
chronicled  at  Cairo.  These  boats  require  from  5  to  30  tons 
of  coal  or  an  equivalent  in  other  fuel  every  day  they  are 
under  steam.  I  am  not  well  advised  on  this  subject,  but 
suppose  a  supply  to  each  boat  on  an  average,  of  three  days 
or  fifty  tons  would  be  considered  small.  Tbis,  however, 
■would  require  an  import  of  75,000  tons  per  annum,  for  this 
sole  object.  How  much  would  be  carried  north  for  the 
supply  of  the  inhabitants  is  still  more  problematical.  From 
the  mines  near  Danville,  Chicago  and  all  the  towns  on 
Lake  Michigan  would  draw  their  supplies  of  coal  to  more 
advantage  than  from  any  other  source.  So  also  could  all 
the  steamers  navigating  that  Lake.  It  will  surely  be  safe 
to  estimate  all  this  at  75.000  tons  more.  The  average 
transportation  will  be  over  75  miles,  and  the  lowest 
rate  would  be  $1  1-2  per  ton,  which  would  amount  to 
^225,000.  The  interior  counties  of  the  State  have  no 
tin:iber,  while  those  to  whicli  tlie  coal  will  be  carried  can 


15 

supply  liimbor  and  wood  to  any  amount.  The.  sonthcm 
portion  of  Illinois  lias  fine  forests.  At  Dnbnque  or  its  vi- 
cinity are  saw  mills  which  are  amply  supplied  from  Mine- 
sota.  Chicago  is  well  known  as  the  great  lumber  depot  of 
the  lakes,  taking  most  of  its  supply  from  the  adjoining 
State  of  Wisconsin.  The  Rock  Valley  Rail  Road  termi- 
nating here,  passes  through  vast  forests  of  white  pine. 
Now  in  the  prairie  lands  of  Illinois,  through  which  the 
Central  Rail  Road  will  be  carried  for  a  large  part  of  it.s 
whole  distance,  every  article  for  building,  fencing  and  fuel 
must  be  drawn  from  one  or  the  other  of  the  above  sources. 
The  cars  therefore  carrying  coal,  as  well  as  those  carrying 
produce  to  Chicago,  will  find  employment  on  their  return 
trips,  in  the  transportation  of  timber.  The  gross  income 
from  the  use  of  them  cannot  be  set  down  at  less  than 
$300,000. 

The  second  source  indicated,  from  which  the  Road  is  to 
be  sustained,  is  "  the  produce  of  the  soil."  The  transpor- 
tation of  Indian  corn  and  other  grains  will  be  the  import- 
ant business  of  this  Road.  Their  production  will  in  time 
be  limited  by  the  capacity  of  the  Road  to  carry  it  off.  In  an 
estimate  of  this  sort  then,  it  may  be  safe  to  neglect  all  other 
kinds  of  produce,  or  rather  consider  them  as  merged  into 
the  one  article  of  maize  or  Indian  corn.  We  have  already 
restricted  ourselves  to  a  population  in  the  district  of  coun- 
try lying  within  fifteen  miles  of  the  Rail  Road,  to  the  den- 
sity of  the  whole  State  by  the  census  of  1850,  or  fifteen  to 
the  square  mile.  There  will  be,  as  before  stated,  20,000  of 
such  miles,  and  the  number  of  inhabitants  will  be  of  course 
300.000.  A  large  portion  of  these  will  be  male  adults,  but 
taking  the  usual  calculation  of  five  to  a  family,  we  have 
60,000  families.  Deducting  again  one  sixth  for  other  em- 
ployments, we  have  then  50,000  families  presumed  to  be 
engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  Now  it  cannot  be 
doubted,  I  think,  that  ten  families  can  easily  till  and  take 
care  of  lOOO  acres  of  Indian  corn  in  Illinois,  by  an  inter- 
change of  labor.  It  is  as  certain  that  the  land  will  give  50, 
60  and  70  bushels  to  the  acre.  This  gives  an  average  of 
100  acres  of  cultivated  ground,  and  6000  bushels  of  coin  to 


16 

each  family.  But  to  be  sure  not  to  overtask  the  powers  of 
the  people  or  of  the  soil,  we  reduce  both  one  half,  50  acres 
and  30  bushels  per  acre,  giving  to  each  family  1500  bush- 
els. Of  this,  suppose  one  third  to  be  used  in  the  family 
and  on  the  farm  and  wasted.  There  remains  1000  bush- 
els. As  a  portion  of  this  may  be  represented  by  less  bulky 
and  more  valuable  articles,  we  again  reduce  it  one  third 
to  get  at  the  weight  that  will  require  transportation  to  a 
market.  This  leaves  us  666  1-3  bushels  of  corn,  or  an 
equivalent  in  other  things,  and  which  multiplied  by  the 
number  of  families  gives  equal  to  33,333,000  bushels  of 
Indian  corn.  The  usual  mode  is  to  estimate  33  bushels  to 
the  ton.  At  33  1-3  it  gives  1,000,900  tons.  The  average 
distance  which  it  would  have  to  be  transported  to  a  market 
could  not  be  less  than  100  miles,  and  the  price  would  be 
low  at  five  cents  per  ton  per  mile.  This  would  give 
$4,000,000. 

3d.  The  returns  that  will  be  made  to  the  producers  of 
this  large  amount  of  property  must  bear  some  proportion 
to  it  in  value  and  in  bulk.  If  the  corn  nets  but  15  cents 
per  bushel,  it  will  give  to  each  family  $100,  and  to  the 
no,0(yO  families  $5,000,000.  To  keep  within  bounds,  we 
will  suppose  that  exclusive  of  the  lumber  by  the  coal  and 
other  trains,  only  one-eighth  of  the  outward  tonnage  is  re- 
turned in  supplies.  This  would  give  the  Road,  at  the 
enhanced  rate  which  such  goods  would  bear,  (say  5  cents 
per  ton  per  mile)  or  $5  per  ton,  $625,000. 

4th.  The  local  travel  of  this  same  population  will  be 
an  item  of  some  importance.  They  must  be  considerably 
scattered,  and  if  they  associate  at  all,  they  will  use  the 
Road.  Each  head  of  a  family  will  have  his  own  produce 
to  dispose  of,  and  that  will  require  his  presence  at  the  mar- 
ket towns.  Now,  if  each  family  averages  five  journeys 
of  60  miles  each,  or  300  miles  per  annum  for  the  whole 
household,  it  will  cause  tlie  road  to  carry  one  passenger 
18,000,000  miles,  which  at  3  cents  per  mile  is  five  hundred 
and  forty  thousand  dollars.  This  would  amount  to  nine 
dollars  for  each  family  per  annum.  If  we  reduce  it  one 
half,  there  can  be  little  doubt  of  the  other  half  being  made 


19 

highest  rate  of  compensation  allowed  hy  law.      Placing  it 

however  in  the  second  class,  the  amonnt  would  be  at  least 

$67,000  per  annum.     If  we  add  for  expenses,  parcels,  and 

miscellaneous,  631,000,  we  close  our  estimate   of  probable 

Income,  making  the  total  amount  as  follows:— 

150,000  tons  coal   carried    75  miles  each      Gross  Income  $225,000 

150,000     "      lumber    "      100     "         "  "  "  300,000 

1,000,000     "      produce  "      100     "        "  "  *'       4,000,000 

125,000     "      Merchandise  back  "        "  "  •*  625,000 

60.000  passengers  (local)  300     "        "  "  "  540,000 

26,000  "     (through)  400     "        "  "  "  312,000 

20,000  tons  through  freight  400  miles  each.    "  "  200,000 

6,202,000 
Mails,  &c.,        ....  98,000 


$6,300,000 
To  transport  the  above,  258,000,000  tons  of  merchandise 
or  individual  passengers  must  have  been  carried  one  mile, 
estimating  each  ton  of  merchandise  outward  as  two,  but 
not  estimating  anything  for  the  return  freight,  and  putting 
the  expenses  at  one  cent  per  ton,  or  per  passenger  carried 
one  mile,  the  cost  is  $2,580,000 

and  leaving  a  JNet  Income  of  3,720,000 

less  7  per  ct.  of  Gross  income  440,000— leaves  3,280,000 
or  an  interest  of  7  per  cent  on  nearly  $47,000,000.  It  is, 
however,  an  amount  of  business  that  could  not  be  performed 
on  a  single  track,  and  with  the  depot  accommodation  such 
as  we  presume  the  Company  will  have  prepared  at  the 
outset.  The  statement  however,  seems  to  show  that  there 
will  be  as  much  business  as  can  be  well  managed  when 
the  Road  is  first  opened.  It  may  therefore  be  proper  to 
show  what  can  be  conveniently  done  with  a  single  track, 
and  what  equipment  will  be  required  to  do  it. 

It  may  be  set  dov/n  as  an  axiom  in  Rail  Road  manage- 
ment, that  it  should  be  prepared  to  do  every  day  and  any 
day  double  its  annual  average.  Thus,  if  the  whole  ton- 
nage of  the  313  working  days  in  the  year  be  313,000  tons 
or  an  average  of  1000  tons  per  day,  the  Road  should  be 
prepared  always  to  take  2000  tons,  because  it  may  at  any 
time  be  called  on  to  do  so.     But  to  do  this,   it  is  evident  it 


20 


must  have  an  equipment  sufficient,  not  simply  to  carry 
this  amount,  but  also  sutTicient  to  allow  for  cars  and  en- 
gines detained,  as  they  may  be  from  several  causes.  If 
not  thus  provided  it  cannot  adapt  itself  to  all  the  variations 
of  trade. 

I    suppose   the    Company   could    conveniently   enough 
operate  the  Road  as  follows — daily  and  each  way  : 

1.  One  treiglit  train  from  Dubuque  to  the  point  of  deviation    (in  89 

deg.  30  m.)  of  tlie  Chicago  Branch,  -  -    260  miles, 

2.  One  passenger  train,  do.  ...  260       " 

3.  One  freight  train,  halfway  between  Junction  and 

Dubuque,  say  .....     130      " 

4.  Two  freight  trains  from  Junction  to  Cairo,  say  174       " 

5.  Five  freight  trains  from  Junction  to  Chicago,  -    226       " 

6.  One  coal  train  from  mines  to  Cairo,        -  -  54      " 

7.  One         •  "     Danville  to  Chicago,        -  -     120 

8.  One  passenger  train,  Cairo  to  Chicago,  accomodation,  400      " 

9.  One  "  "  express,  400       " 
These  trains  will  require,  for  actual  use,  the  following 

equipment,  and  will  run  the  distances  annexed  : 

]\Iiles  per  Annum. 

60  Double  freight  cars  and  4  locomotives,  making  188,760 

20  Pass'r  cars,  60  seals  each, 
60  Double  freight  cars,  and 


1. 
2. 

3. 
4. 

5. 
G. 

7. 
8. 
9. 


120 

240         '«  "  '♦ 

160  Single  coal  cars  " 

160        "  "  " 

20  Passenger  cars,  60  seats, 

20 


4 
2 
4 
16 
2 
2 


50 


To  the  locomotives  we  may  add  for  contingencies,  50  pr  ct. 
Passenger  cars  "  "  "  50     " 

Freight  cars  and  coal  cars        "  "  100     «' 

And  to  the  distance  run,  say 


158,760 
81,380 
217,840 
565,904 
33,804 
75,120 
250,400 
250,400 

1,852,368 


147,632 


Giving  75  engines,  90  passenger,  960  freight  and  640  coal 

cars,  and  distance      ....       2,000,000 

With  this  power  and  arrangement  it  would  be  easy  to 
transport  each  way,  if  the  business  was  uniform,  for  a 
distance  of  200  miles  daily,  240Q  tons  of  merchandise;  but 
conforming  to  the  rule,  already  laid  down,  of  being  pre- 
pared  to  do  double   the  average,  it  will  be  fair  to  put  the 


17 

up  and  much  more  than  made  np  by  the  other  local  pas- 
senger and  freight  bushiess,  snch  as  of  tliose  hving  willi- 
out  the  hne  of  twelve  miles,  of  citizens  of  other  States 
visiting  the  stations,  and  the  thousand  occasions  for  trips 
from  the  terminii  to  the  interior.  It  seems  safe,  then,  to 
let  this  item  stand. 

5th.  The  through  travel,  which  will  consist  of  all  pas- 
sengers passing  over  the  Road  or  any  part  of  it  on  their 
way  to  and  from  other  States.  There  is  a  great  tide  of 
travel  from  the  South  and  West,  that  has  heretofore  ebbed 
and  flowed  regularly  Northerly  and  Easterly  in  early 
Spring,  and  Southerly  and  Westerly  in  Autumn,  impelled 
by  business  or  pleasure,  or  both.  Various  channels  to  ac- 
commodate this  mighty  current  have  been,  or  will  be  pro- 
vided.     The  principal  of  these  are 

1.  The  Southern  line  of  rail  roads,  steam  boats  and 
stages  through  Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  Georgia  and  Al- 
abama : 

2.  The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail  Road  intended  to  be 
constructed  to  Wheeling  on  the  Ohio  River  : 

3.  The  Pennsylvania  Rail  Road  and  the  Ohio  Central 
from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg,  thence  by  one  line  to  Lako 
Erie,  and  by  another  through  Columbus,  and  eventually 
to  Vincennes  and  St.  Louis  : 

4.  The  Erie  Rail  Road  to  Dunkirk,  thence  by  the  Lake 
Shore  Roads  to  Toledo,  thence  by  Southern  Michigan  to 
Chicago  : 

5.  The  Hudson  River  Road,  connecting  with  all  the 
Albany  and  Buffalo  Roads  terminating  at  Buffalo,  or  Ni- 
agara Falls,  thence  by  the  Great  Western  Rail  Road 
through  Canada  West  to  Detroit,  thence  by  the  Michigan 
Central  to  a  junction  with  the  Illinois  Central  at  or  near 
Chicago.  At  Buffalo  also,  passengers  for  the  West  take 
steam  boats  for  Detroit  or  direct  for  Chicago. 

Now  all  these  rotites,  except  the  two  first,  though  to  a 
degree  competing  among  themselves,  will  disgorge  their 
South-western  freight  and  passengers  upon  the  Illinois 
Central,  which  will  in  turn  benefit  them  by  affording  the 
quickest  and  best  line  from  the  Atlantic  to  New  Orleans. 


144  miles, 

5  hours, 

300   '  = 

11  " 

229   " 

10  " 

227   " 

10  " 

400   " 

16  " 

500   *' 

20  " 

18 

When  the  Mobile  and  Oliio,  the  Illinois  Central,  the  Great 
Western  and  the  Hudson  River  Rail  Roads  shall  be  com- 
pleted, the  distances  and  time  of  passenger  trains  will  be: 

New  York  to  Albany, 

Albany  to  Niagara, 

Niagara  to  Detroit, 

Detroit  to  Michigan  city, 

Michigan  city  to  Cairo, 

Cairo  to  Mobile, 

1800  72 

all  by  Rail  Road  and  without  change  of  baggage  from 
the  crates.  If  this  can  be  approximated,  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  it  should  not  be  reached,  no  route  between  the 
East  and  the  West  either  by  sea  or  land,  can  successfully 
compete  with  it.  But  supposing  all  this  is  imagination 
and  assuming  all  the  present  difficulties  of  this  route  to 
continue,  snags  in  the  rivers,  explosions  of  the  boilers,  break 
down  of  the  machinery,  cholera  in  the  vessel  and  quaran- 
tines on  shore,  we  shall  find  few  who  will  estimate  the 
present  travel  over  the  roads  and  streams  for  which  the 
Illinois  Central  route  will  be  the  substitute,  at  less  than 
250  weekly  each  way,  averaged  through  the  year  on  each 
and  every  part  of  them.  But  suppose  this  number  only 
pass  over  400  miles  of  the  Road,  they  will  travel  10,400,000 
miles,  which  at  3  cents  per  mile  will  give  $312,000.  In 
this  same  class  of  business  must  be  included  the  transpor- 
tation of  merchandise  from  points  beyond  the  terminii 
of  the  Road.  As  the  route  will  be  the  shortest,  safest  and 
quickest  between  the  West  and  the  East,  it  will  be  likely 
to  secure  almost  all  the  valuable  goods  imported  or  manu- 
factured by  the  Atlantic  States  for  the  supply  of  the  great 
Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  but  in  return  little  except  specie 
can  be  expected.  Putting  the  amount  at  20,000  tons  both 
•ways,  and  the  rate  at  $10  per  ton,  gives  us  $200,000. 

6th.  Transportation  of  the  Mail.  As  this  will  be  the 
most  expeditious  route,  the  least  exposed  to  delay  and 
danger,  and  will  connect  Avith  all  the  important  lines  of 
Rail  Roads  and  Steamboats,  it  should  be  entitled  to  the 


ported  by  the  magnificent  domains  already  granted  in  ev- 
ery section  for  their  use,  With  all  the  appliances  of  modern 
science  brought  to  bear  upon  its  own  extraordinary  pow- 
ers of  production,  with  one  great  trunk  Rail  Road  trav- 
ersing its  whole  extent  from  north  to  south,  and  connect- 
ing the  sources  of  the  Mississippi  with  the  waters  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  with  rail  roads  and  plank  roads  inter- 
secting it  in  every  direction,  giving  it  all  needful  facil- 
ities, with  a  location  within  48  hours  of  New  York  or 
New  Orleans,  with  vast  fields  made  ready  by  nature  for 
the  plough  or  the  harrow,  with  valuable  forests,  and  with 
inexhaustible  beds  of  lead  and  coal;  under  all  these  advan- 
tages can  there  be  much  doubt  of  finding  purchasers  at 
prices  in  fee,  that  in  many  of  the  States  less  populous 
than  this  will  be  in  ten  years,  would  hardly  pay  the  rental 
for  a  single  year. 

The  object  of  this  memoir  is  to  provoke  criticism — to 
bring  forward  objections,  if  there  be  any,  to  the  course 
adopted  by  the  Corporation,  to  elicit  the  truth  by  discus- 
sion, to  detect  errors  of  fact  and  errors  of  imagination  ,  in 
a  word  to  arrive  at  a  point  in  the  investigation  of  the  sub- 
ject about  which  there  can,  under  no  circumstances,  be  any 
doubt,  and  to  show  a  basis  for  investment  that  cannot  fail 
in  the  essential  elements  of  security  of  capital  and  prompt 
and  regular  receipt  of  interest. 

The  writer  subscribes  his  name,  not  because  it  is  of  any 
importance  who  presents  facts  that  are  of  general  notoriety, 
or  draws  deductions  from  them  which  all  can  judge  of, 
but  because  he  does  not  wish  to  give  his  representations 
any  effect  by  concealing  his  interest  in  the  undertaking, 
or  to  let  it  be  surmised  that  his  statements  or  calculations 
have  any  official  sanction.  They  have  not  been  submitted 
to  the  Coard  of  Directors  or  to  any  of  the  officers  of  the 
Company.  From  theui  a  more  elaborate  report  of  the 
location  and  character  of  the  Road,  of  the  circumstances 
of  its  position,  of  the  probable  extent  of  its  traffic,  of  its 
future  increase,  of  the  value  of  its  property,  and  of  the 
validity  of  its  securities,  may  soon  be  expected.     It  is   the 


24 

humble,  but  perhaps  not  useless  design  of  these  pages  to 
awaken  so  much  curiosity  in  relation  to  this  subject  as  will 
ensure  to  that  Report  the  attention  to  which  its  importance 
will  justly  entitle  it,  and  to  foreshadow  the  features  of  a 
plan  that  offers  a  mode  of  investment  as  ample  in  its  guar- 
anties as  the  securities  of  government,  without  their  liabihty 
to  fluctuations  with  the  changing  aspects  of  the  times. 

D.  A.  NEAL. 


21 

capacity  at  1200  tons,  100  miles  outward,  and  300  tons  in- 
ward. The  coal  trains  could  lake  400  tons,  and  those  to 
Chicago  bring  back  400  tons  of  lumber  or  heavy  goods. 
Reduce  these  also  to  one  half,  and  assuming  the  outward 
freight  in  produce  at  4  cents  per  ton  per  mile,  inward  at  5 
cents,  and  coal  and  lumber  at  2  cents,  and  passengers  at  3 
cents  per  mile,  we  shall  arrive  at  the  following  results: 

1200    tons  outward    freight  312 1-2    clays    is    375,000    tons    at    $4       -        -  $1,500,000 

300      "      inward        "             "            "              93,'750      "       "     $5       -        -  468,750 

200     "      coal  to   Cairo,      313            "               62,600      "       "     $1       -        -  62,600 

200     "      coal  to  Chicago    "             "               62,600      "       "     $2       -        -  125,200 

200      "      lumber  from  Chicago  olSJ  "                62,600      "       "     $2        -        -  123,200 

61      "      through  freight  313              "                20,000      "       "  $10        -        -  200,000 

26,000    through  passengers  400  miles  each  10,400,000  miles  at  3  cents          -  312,000 

60,000    local                "            300      "        "       18,000,000      "       "    3     "               -  540,000 

Mail  $100  per  mile 66,000 

Expresses,  Parcels,   and  Miscellaneous          ..----  38,250 

$3,438,000 
State  Tax  7  per  cent.,  say    - 238,000 

$3,200,000 
COST    OF    OPERATING. 
73,280,000  tons  carried  one  mile,  at  1 1-4  cts  per  ton,  per  mile        $916,000 
28,400,000  passengers  can-ied  one  mile  at  1  ct  per  mile  -  284,000  1,200,000 

being  60  cents  per  mile  jun  by  trains.  Net  Income        -         $2,000,000 

being  7  per  cent.,  on  between  twenty-eight  and  twenty-nine 
millions  of  dollars.  It  is  evident  that  we  may  deduct  one- 
third  from  the  gross  income,  and  still  have  enough  to 
ensure  the  interest  on  the  cost  of  the  Road.  In  fact,  it 
seems  difRcult,  without  throwing  away  all  the  results  of 
experience  and  rejecting  the  plainest  deductions  from  the 
action  of  well  known  causes,  to  make  an  estimate  of  the 
business  that  will  not  produce  an  income,  that  per  se,  will 
appear  extravagantly  large  on  the  capital  invested.  Yet 
if  it  had  been  my  object  to  discourage  investments  in  tho 
stock  or  bonds  of  such  an  enterprise,  and  had  claimed  that 
it  could  expect  no  more  business  than  was  indicated  in  the 
preceding  statement,  without  showing  its  proceeds,  I  am 
sure  I  should  have  been  accused  of  a  ridiculous  deprecia- 
tion of  its  probable  amount.  There  seems,  indeed,  very 
little  doubt,  that  instead  of  one,  before  many  years  pass 
by.  a  double  track  will  be  required  the  whole  length  of 
the  line,  and  perhaps  four  tracks  between  the  coal  pits  and 


22 

the  terminii  of  the  Road.  My  intention,  however,  is  not 
to  show  how  profitable  the  Road  may  prove  as  a  specula- 
tion, hut  to  prove  that  it  will  be  good  security  for  the  sum 
expended  in  its  construction.  If  it  be  so,  then  it  is  evident 
that  to  the  bond  holder,  who  wants  security  and  nothing 
else,  It  is  not  of  much  consequence  what  the  mortgaged 
lands  may  be  worth,  but  to  those  who  seek  profit  it  may 
be,  for  if  these  lands  should  not  be  wanted  at  the  prices 
fi^ed  by  the  Directors,  they  will  not  be  sold,  and  conse- 
quently the  Bonds  will  not  be  taken  by  the  Company  at 
20  per  cent,  advance  at  wliich  they  have  retained  the  right 
to  redeem  them.  But  if  there  be  not  some  gross  fallacy 
pervading  all  our  previous  calculations,  if  the  usual  mo- 
tive that  governs  men  in  making  their  investments,  to  wit, 
the  proportion  that  the  income  will  bear  to  the  principal, 
does  not  cease  to  operate,  if  the  increase  of  native,  and 
the  influx  of  foreign  population  does  not  stop,  if  experi- 
ence and  analogy  do  not  deceive  us,  and  if  all  who  have 
looked  closely  into  the  subject  are  not  grossly  mistaken, 
these  lands  will  bring  every  dollar  at  which  the  Directors 
of  the  Company  have  appraised,  or  in  all  probability,  will 
wish  them  to  be  sold. 

The  prices  that  have  been  affixed  to  these  lands  may 
appear  large,  especially  when  it  is  known  that  there  is  an 
equal  quantity  equally  valuable  that  can  and  will  be 
entered,  as  soon  as  the  location  of  the  Road  is  known,  at 
the  Government  minimum  rate  of  $2  1-2  per  acre.  But  it 
must  be  recollected  that  it  is  not  of  the  prices  of  to-day 
that  we  speak  ;  that  it  is  not  an  unapproachable  wilder- 
ness, devoid  of  culture  and  destitute  of  inhabitants,  that 
we  value.  It  is  not  a  country  on  the  outskirts  of  civiliza- 
tion, untrodden  save  by  the  wild  animals  of  the  prairie,  or 
the  wilder  Indian  of  the  forest.  But  it  is  Illinois  in  1860 
or  1870,  that  we  are  to  appreciate.  It  is  a  region  dotted 
with  flourishing  farms  and  covered  with  an  enterprising 
and  industrious  population,  that  we  ofl'er  for  sale.  It  is 
the  exact  centre  of  the  American  Union,  sustained  by 
clusters  of  sister  States  all  around,   with  its  schools  sup- 


ME 


l^nK:^ 


^ 


